History of Reading Instruction Timeline
Middle 1960's-Present
- Albert J. Harris and Mae Knight Clark (1965-1966)
- Developed The MacMillan Reading Program
- Research and field studies indicated that teachers and administrators were relying too much on basal readers. More time needed to be spent on education.
- Higher emphasis was placed on higher order thinking and critical reading.
- Basal readers were meeting more individual needs. They had advanced significantly.
- The increased drop-out rate and need for skilled labor brought the attention of the U.S. Government for reading instruction at higher levels.
- Most urgent need was for better teacher training.
- There was a big study of comprehension in the 60's, 70's, and 80's.
- Durkin, Bransford, Flavell, and Thorndike
- They believed in reflection and prior knowledge to be important.
- Today, we place a big emphasis on comprehension, vocabulary instruction, and standardized testing.
Early 1930's
1950's
1900-1910
1850-1860
1776-1840
- Expanding Knowledge and Technological Revolution
- U.S. citizens became increasingly aware of the need for effort in maintaining leadership as a nation.
- They felt that the key solution for solving these problems was having a basic education.
- An item of concern was Russia launching a satellite and beginning development of the atomic bomb (1957). The U.S. felt challenged in its achievements. In reading, there was pressure to produce a higher competency in a short amount of time.
- During this period, for the 1st time in history reading instruction in U.S. schools underwent harsh criticism by people and instructors alike.
- During this time period graded series of readers were published by Worcester, McGuffey, Swan, Russell, Tower, Sanders, etc.
- There was a natural development to the new graded school system.
- Content veered away from strictly religion and patriotism to history, art, politics, etc.
- Marcius Willson (1860)
- Published readers in NY that specialized in science content.
- During this time period reading instruction was gearing away from religion.
- The emphasis changed to reading with correct pronunciation, inflection, etc.
- The emphasis was placed to help promote unity in America
- Noah Webster's Spellers (1783)
- These books taught students how to read, spell, and pronounce words. It included three sections: a spelling book for beginning readers, a grammar book, and An American Selection of Lessons in Reading and Speaking. These were the first set of 3 books in American Reading Instruction.
- Caleb Bingham's Readers were produced in the late 1700's.
- Several spellers were published during this time. Many of the spellers were written in an entertaining nature. There were many illustrations. These early spellers are compared to the basic reading book used today.
- 1829- Learning the alphabet was looked at being the most important first step to learning to read.
- Students were mostly judged on oratorical reading during this time period.
- McGuffey's Readers (1836)
- William Holmes McGuffey created a series of readers that included 55 to 85 lessons each. They were widely used during this time period. The books included stories from many genres.
- During this time period was the first that attention started to be placed on reading disabilities
- Reading Disability Focus
- "Congenitalexia" or "word blindness"
- Many cases came from France, Germany, and England
- Birth of the Scientific Movement in Education
- Scales and tests started to appear
- Instruments for reading methods were created
- There were changes made from oral to silent reading, reading research, and development of remedial reading techniques
- Introduction of individual instruction and a concern about improvement of the teaching of reading.
- George L. Farnham (1905)
- Author of one of the 1st teachers' manuals in reading
- Manuals for teachers began to develop and there were more supplemental materials (began in 1888)
- New Reading Methods Created
- Word Method >> Sentence and Story
- Readers began to elaborate on phonetics
- Techniques were created to foster interest
- Frank E. Spaulding (1907)
- Published The Aldine Readers
- These readers integrated rhymes that memorized to use as a later reference for words forgotten.
- Scott Foresman (1909-1914)
- Published The Elson Readers
- Readers had a cultural point of view but were geared toward student interest
- Margaret Free and Harriette Taylor Treadwell (1910)
- They were the 1st to prepare beginning readers with adaptations from folktales. 31% of the readers were illustrations.
- Period of Intensive Research and Application (Ended in 1935)
- Investigations into reading interests and habits for children and adults contributed to the emphasis on a broader reading program.
- Wide range of topics were discussed in new reading materials by many different authors during this time period.
- Teachers' manuals became much more profitable, attractive, and informative.
- There was an abundance of supplemental materials published.
- Standard word lists were created.
- Arthur I. Gates and William S. Gray
- Conducted and produced a great amount of research concerning reading and writing.
- They were against teaching phonics drills in isolation. They felt integration was important.
- Some schools were leaning toward the activity movement. They were doing away with the basal readers. Instruction was being built around student needs and activities. However, the struggle was that there were limited materials to accommodate an entire class. The activity movement was used in many schools throughout the country.
- Miles Tinker (1934)
- Reported that 180 studies had been conducted up to this time in the diagnosis of remediation and reading disabilities
The Very Beginning...
Egyptians were said to be the first to develop symbols. The Phoenician alphabet was developed. The Greek letters and the Roman alphabet followed. There were many mediums used such as stone, tile, wood, and horn. During the 14th-18th centuries, the primer was created. Reading was primarily based on religion. In the Middle Ages, the primer included the Creed, the Lord's Prayer, the Ten Commandments, and a few Psalms. The book was created to provide material necessarily for a religious experience (Smith, 7). It was not intended for reading. "The ABC" was another book intended for religious purposes. It was not a schoolbook. It was a manual of church services. In the 15th century, the Enschude Abecedarium was created with the intention of teaching children how to read. It included the alphabet, the Pater Noster, the Ave Maria, the Credo, and two prayers. It was the first book that was meant to teach reading in the form of the Christian religion.
1935-1940's
1911-1929
1870-1899
1840-1850
1607-1776
- The influence went from industrial to wanting an intelligent society.
- Nationalistic/Moralistic
- This began around 1840 and lasted approximately 40 years.
- The success of the democracy was being based off of people being educated. So, the motive was to improve the methods and materials of the time period.
- Horace Mann was one of the most influential leaders. He was said to have done more than any other individual.
- Oral reading was still the main focus of reading instruction. Professional books and teachers' manuals weren't common during this time even though this was the norm.
- Many people began to protest the "ABC" method because they felt it was important to take a more real-life approach which included learning entire words during the 1st weeks versus learning the alphabet and phonics first.
- John Russell Webb (1846): He published the primer "The New World Method". He also created silent reading.
- McGuffey's Readers (1836-1844)
- These readers were more popular than any other company over a 40 year time frame.
- He was the 1st author to produce a clearly defined and carefully graded series consisting of 1 reader for each grade in elementary school.
- He was also the first who provided for repetition in instruction.
- James H. Fassett (1912: 1st primer, 1913: 1st reader)
- Published The Beacon Series
- Phonetic Method Emphasized
- Readers for grades 2-6 were added shortly after the 1st publication
- Included many pictures
- Mead, Oberholtzer, Pintner, etc (1915-1918)
- Investigations indicated silent reading was more beneficial in both speed and comprehension
- 1st standardized test was published (1915)
- Remedial Reading Extends to Public Schools (1920-1924)
- Many were concerned about reading disabilities
- This initiated improvement
- Assessments (1919)
- Judd's article, "Reading Tests". He stated, "Reading assessments are used to determine students' levels" (Judd, 38).
- Silent Reading Emphasis (1921-1922)
- Teachers' manuals came into general use during this period in regards to silent reading
- Comprehension was a major concern for silent reading methods
- Ability grouping was first mentioned
- Flash cards were used to increase rate
- Grace M. Fernald
- She started the clinic school at UCLA for remedial instruction
- Individual Instruction was introduced which revealed a drastic variation in the learning rate.
- After 1925-
- Ability grouping began (predominately in 3rd grade classrooms)
- Teachers' manuals were geared towards grouping of students (differentiation)
- 1st reading readiness articles appeared about childhood education (1927)
- The church dictated what was taught.
- Religious leaders believed, "every individual must know how to read in order to make their own judgements concerning their religion (Smith, 10).
- The Primer, The Psalter, The Hornbook, and the Bible were used to teach spelling and reading.
- The Hornbook (1650)- It was a wooden paddle with a sheet of paper glued to it. It included the letters of the alphabet. Students first learned the letters and then the sounds. The Lord's Prayer was attached at the bottom and students knew the prayer from memory. Teachers used it because it was familiar.
- The New England Primer (1687)- This was the 1st reading textbook designed for American colonies (Smith, 17). The book was used during the colonial period. There were many small pictures that had a verse for students to learn the alphabet.
- Psalters (1760)- This followed the Hornbook and Primer. It was introduced in the late 17th century. The book included spelling lessons and reading rules. Children began reading the Bible after reading Psalter.
- Most teaching material was brought over by England and sold in America during this time.
- Period of International Conflict Begins (1935-1950)
- There was a lot of international stress because of the wars.
- Reduction in teaching personnel
- Crowded classrooms
- Money went to the war effort not education
- Most schools did recover well after the war was over.
- However, a major effect of the war was the shocking rediscovery that many military personnel still couldn't read.
- Reading suffered its first serious threat from mass communication (radio, comics, and movies) (1938)
- Skills charts and skill development programs were being included in teachers' manuals.
- Visual Discrimination and Auditory Discrimination were new terms that came into teachers' vocabularies in connection with phonics.
- "Critical reading" was coined as an important term.
- Teaching of reading instruction at higher levels was mostly remedial in nature. However, there was a drastic increase in interest to reading instruction at secondary schools and college levels.
- Increased interest in reading disability involving multiple causation theory. Particularly, related to physiology and psychology. (1935)
- Reading readiness was considered to be so important that material was provided to the teacher along with instructions for use during a reading readiness period.
- 4 Reading Programs were developed and widely used during this time period.
- The Reading for Interest Series
- The Learning to Read Program (Dr. Nila Banton Smith)
- The Ginn Basic Readers (Dr. David H. Russell)
- The Betts Basic Readers (Dr. Emmett A. Betts and Carolyn M. Welch)
- Culture was very relevant in reading instruction during this time period.
- Included music, art, and literature
- Mediums were used in readers to gain interest.
- Elocutionary rules and moralistic information began disappearing.
- It was replaced by literary selections for the first time in beginning readers.
- Rebecca Pollard (1889)
- Created Pollard's Synthetic Method
- She considered children's interests and maturity versus just age.
- She geared instruction from teachers' point of view to student interest.
- Edward G. Ward (1894)
- He published the Ward Rational Method in Reading
- It consisted of a primer and 6 readers
- It was the 1st reader that had colored pictures
- He was one of the authors who tried to integrate phonics with the word method.
- During this time, there was a very notable decline in patriotic and moralistic materials.
Early 1960's
- This time period brought forth new professional books on reading instruction for all levels.
- New development of multiple texts even though the nature of the content didn't change. It just included testing to serve the teacher (Sheldon Diagnostic Test).
- Job training centers were set-up
- The government including the president became heavily involved in reading and education by setting up job training centers, increased adult education, provided funding, and developed new skills and methods.
- Emphasis was put on teachers to integrate multicultural texts with visual depictions in order to help foster the need for ELLs and children with disabilities.